Washington Congressional Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice

2. Other or expanded principles
- Pro life and pro choice are not mutually exclusive stances. I will do all I can to greatly reduce or eliminate the need for abortions but not at the expense of taking away the rights of a woman to own her reproductive health.

Budget

1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- Yes

2. In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
- Unknown Position

3. Other or expanded principles
- I support a program of peace through strength and desire to continue to have a strong military, but I am certain we can reduce spending in just about all areas of government by getting rid of the pork.

Campaign Finance

1. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support some measure of campaign contributions from corporations and unions, but not unlimited and only with clear source disclosure.

Economy

1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

2. Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Unknown Position

3. Other or expanded principles
- If done correctly I support lowering corporate taxes, but I do not support the recent tax reform bill that will add $1 trillion to the deficit. Any reductions in corporate taxes must drive investment and contribute to meaningful wage growth at the lowest levels of the corporation.

Education

1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support minimum education standards that reflect the high quality education we would expect for this country but like everything else, the implementation is critical. No Child Left Behind failed because it penalized the schools and students that needed help the most. A positive education outcome relies on parents and students valuing the experience.

Energy & Environment

1. Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes

2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- We should continue to pursue renewable energy to realize energy independence.

Guns

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Unknown Position

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support the Second Amendment and have no desire to take guns away from law abiding citizens. Of the solutions being discussed, a step too far for me is a national gun registry. I don't want the federal government to know if or how many guns I own. However, I believe there are many common sense gun laws that will not infringe on anyone's Second Amendment rights, including improving background checks, enacting red flag laws, investing in smart guns, supporting anti-violence programs, investing in mental health, funding CDC data collection and analysis, and enforcing laws already on the books.

Health Care

1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No

2. Other or expanded principles
- The 2010 ACA is flawed. It should be replaced with a better solution, but not repealed until that solution is available. I believe there is a healthcare solution that can accomplish everything those on both sides of the conversation require (more efficient, effective, innovative and less costly healthcare for all). To achieve this we have to have the conversation outside of special interest and partisan influence. Only a third party moderating voice can make this happen.

Immigration

1. Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
- No

2. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- Unknown Position

3. Other or expanded principles
- I support the Dreamers but also believe we need immigration reform. I want to continue to get the best and brightest in the world to come to the United States. This country was built on the backs of immigrants, and if we want to be a true global leader, we need to embrace the best outcomes that a well designed immigration policy can deliver in a diverse and humane way.

Marijuana

1. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

National Security

1. Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon?
- No

2. Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?
- Unknown Position

3. Other or expanded principles
- I don't have the information that our leaders have to be able to make that call. My desire is to have someone in the White House and on the appropriate Congressional committees with access to classified intelligence that I would trust to make those calls. With the current hyper-partisan environment, bad decisions are being made in the interest of political posturing. We need leaders in Congress who are patriots and put country over party.

Administrative Priorities

Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- We must get a moderating third party influence working in D.C. Under our broken two party system, good legislation can't happen. Power rules, and even good ideas, when marked as either Republican or Democrat, must immediately be discarded by the other side or that side loses power. We are in a civil war of sorts, and the only way to reverse direction is to begin debating the issues on merits. Only a credible Independent influence can accomplish that now. In Washington State's top two primary you must vote in the primary to have an Independent on the ballot in November.